Is your campaign headquarters accessible to persons with disabilities?

No.

If you are an incumbent, is your district office accessible to persons with disabilities?

Yes.

How will you incorporate people with disabilities into your campaign?

Any individual who would like to volunteer for me is more than welcome to, either from my office or elsewhere. If they are unable to access my office due to accessibility issues, I and/or my campaign staff will be more than happy to meet with them at home or elsewhere and get them involved.

Are you willing to hire and use flex-time and job-sharing if necessary?

Yes, although I have no need for additional staff at the moment.

What do you think of the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act?

It has not been implemented yet in New York State, and, in fact, although the program was to be rolled out in 2002, the distribution of "Tickets" has been halted because of problems.

What will you do to find a solution to the problem of high rates of unemployment for people with disabilities and the removal of disincentives to joining the workforce?

Like in so many areas, we need to fund adult education courses for the disabled to retrain and re-educate them. With the proper skills and training I believe there are very few jobs in America's technologically based economy that a person with a disability can't perform.

In 2002, the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) passed in Congress. What would you do to resolve problem areas preventing smooth transitions to new voting systems by 2006 - such as accessible voting machines, ensuring that states receive the needed funds, etc.? What is your position on HR 2239, which would create a voter verifiable paper trail-create a waiver of HAVA's requirement that by 2006 each polling place have at least one accessible voting machine?

I am a co-sponsor of HR 2239 and fully support it. No person's vote should be disenfranchised because of the voting machinery. I also support HR 550.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act turned 29 this past year, yet funding remains below mandated levels in New York State, as in many other states. What will you do to correct this problem, and strengthen the services provided students with disabilities, so that in fact, "no child is left behind?"

The unfunded mandate that is "no child left behind" is completely a result of a Republican President and Congress. Like so many Democrats I have fought for fully funding our education programs. I lead the fight to build the first new high school on the East Side in 80 years, which opened its new fully accessible building in 2003. As a Democrat, mother, and former teacher funding education has always been a top priority. I believe the only way this will done is when the Democrats retake control of Congress. When it comes to education funding, Republicans enjoy talking the talk, but only Democrats truly walk the walk.

A bill called the ADA Notification Act has been kicking around both houses of the U.S. Congress for the past few years. It calls for amending Title III of the ADA requiring that prior to filing lawsuits, people with disabilities provide business owners with 90 days advance notice of ADA violations in writing--detailing the location of inaccessible facilities, dates when access was attempted, and facts relating to their attempt to gain access. What are your thoughts on this issue?

I am against the ADA Notification Act. This bill impedes a disabled person's right to remedy the lack of accessibility in the courts. Business owners do not deserve special rights when it comes to accessibility.

Recently, there is uneven availability of Medicaid-funded attendant services in the U.S. There are "good" states (such as New York) which offer decent programs, and "bad" states (such as Florida) which offer little service. The proposed Medicaid Community Attendant Services & Supports Act (MiCASSA) would establish a national program of attendant services and supports. This means that current recipients of services will not unjustly have their hours cut, thus permitting the freedom to move to another state to live, work, and/or study. A companion piece of legislation, Money Follows the Individual, would end the bias toward institutional care by ensuring that funding for services continues when an individual leaves the nursing home and is reintegrated into the community. Do you support the passage of MiCASSA? Do you support the concept of Money Follows the Individual?

I am a co-sponsor of the Medicaid Community Attendant Services & Supports Act and I fully support the concept of "Money Following the Individual".

Most health insurance plans in America treat mental disorders in a discriminatory fashion when compared to physical disorders. The typical health insurance plan in America authorizes unlimited hospitalization for physical disorders while limiting hospitalization for mental disorders to 30 days per calendar year. The typical insurance plan in America authorizes a broad array of outpatient services for physical insurance, but limits outpatient mental health services to 20 visits each year. To remedy this disparity, do you support HR 953, S486, "The Senator Paul Wellstone Equitable Treatment Act"

I was a co-sponsor of HR 953 and fully support it. In the 109th Congress, I am a cosponsor and supporter of HR 1402, which is an identical bill.

Do you favor removing the Federal Government's restrictions and substantially increasing funding on stem cell research?

Absolutely. I voted for HR 810 and voted to override the President's veto recently. My father died of Parkinson's disease, a disease which we may be able to fight with stem cell research. I whole-heartedly believe in the importance and value of stem cell research.

Persons with disabilities have historically been under-represented within the Democratic Party leadership. According to the 2000 census, persons with disabilities comprised 20.6% of all residents in New York State and 23.1% of population 18 years and older. Previously, we were told that only those groups included in the Voting Rights Act were included in the goals and timetables for delegate selection. Yet the lesbian and gay communities were included for the first time at the 2000 convention and again at the 2004 convention. Would you support a campaign to set a goal that 10% of the total New York State Delegation to the 2008 Democratic National Convention be comprised of persons with disabilities?

I support the 504 Democratic Club's goal that 10% of New York's delegates at the 2008 Democratic National Convention be persons with disabilities and I have asked the State Committeeman from the 65th Assembly District to make it his main focus to have the NYSDC pass such a resolution in the next four years.